Friday, December 28, 2001
Two local big-wave events could be run this weekend with the expectation of bigger swells. Waimea, Jaws big-wave
events could happen
this weekendStar-Bulletin staff
The Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay and the Tow-In World Cup at Maui's Jaws need waves of at least 20 feet, and those waves could start rolling in tomorrow.
Waves on Oahu's North Shore have been in the 12- to occasional 20-foot range the past two days.
The Aikau is held on a single day between the holding dates of Dec. 1 and Feb. 28. The Tow-In World Cup is also held on a single day between Nov. 17 and Jan. 12.
Tomorrow looks to be the first possible day for either event to run. Should the Quiksilver decide not to run tomorrow morning, it would likely signal the official green light for the Tow-In World Cup.
"Once we know that the wave height is going to be there, it's a 50-50 chance then that we will run," Quiksilver Eddie Aikau contest director George Downing said. "We need to average 20 feet and above. Once Waimea hits 20 feet, it's a completely different wave to what it is at anything less.
"At this stage there are forecasts of southwest winds with the front of the storm. It remains to be seen how this will affect the conditions. If it's less than 10 miles an hour, the conditions could be good. But more than 10 miles an hour and it can adversely affect the quality of the wave, in which case, we might not run."
Tow-In World Cup director Rosaldo Cavalcante is anticipating a weekend start on Maui.
"Southwest winds don't affect us at Jaws as much as they may affect Waimea, so it looks good for us to run the event either Saturday or Sunday," Cavalcante said. "We will wait to see what the call is and be ready to run the Tow-In World Cup immediately."
While both events rely upon similarly huge swells with an overlap in a handful of invited surfers, each event is unique.
In both events, the field of competitors is by invitation only, but for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, surfers will be paddling into the heaving waves of Waimea Bay completely under their own arm power, as per traditional surfing style. At Jaws, surfers will be competing in 2-man teams comprised of a personal motorized watercraft tow-in driver and a surfer who holds onto a rope behind the craft to be literally towed into the huge waves.
"The Eddie," as it has affectionately come to be known, is held in honor of legendary Waimea Bay surfer Eddie Aikau. Aikau, a pure-blooded Hawaiian, was one of the first to ride in huge Waimea waves, doubling as a lifeguard at the same location. Aikau was lost at sea in 1978, after the Hokule'a -- a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe he was on board -- capsized at night in huge swells in the Molokai Channel during a re-enactment of the Polynesian sailing voyage from Oahu to Tahiti, navigating by the stars.